Downturn Prompts Diversification of Agent Business

The challenging economy is prompting telephony agents toward diversifying their businesses, according to the results of the first-ever Telephony Agent Key Issues Survey conducted by Gartner Inc. and PHONE+.

The survey found the vast majority of telephony agent respondents are taking action to represent other carriers, carry different products and services, or sell to different types of customers (see chart 1).

The study was solicited responses from PHONE+ readers during the month of September 2009. Respondents confirmed that the telephony agent landscape is dominated by small companies. Nearly half of respondents have less than 10 employees, and another 20 percent have between 10-19 employees. In addition, nearly 60 percent of respondents have less than $5 million in telecom services under contract (see chart 2).